Genetic Markers clinical trials

The PROFILE Study: Germline Genetic Profiling: Correlation With Targeted Prostate Cancer Screening and Treatment

Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in men in the Western world. In the United Kingdom (UK), there were over 52,000 new cases diagnosed in 2016-2018 and a lifetime risk of 1 in 8. Prostate cancer (PrCa) can run in some families and research studies have identified several genetic changes in Caucasian populations that are thought to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. Other studies have shown that men from certain ethnic groups also have a higher risk of prostate cancer, and this includes men of black African or black African-Caribbean ancestry. This study aims to look at men with a higher risk of prostate cancer based on their ethnicity, family history and/or genetic predisposition to see whether any of these genetic changes are present in their DNA (genetic material) and whether this could be a helpful screening tool in prostate cancer screening programmes. It is thought that many genetic changes are involved in the development of prostate cancer and research is being carried out worldwide to identify these genetic changes. Some of these changes may cause a very slight increase in prostate cancer risk while others may cause a much larger increase in risk of developing prostate cancer. The investigators will invite (i) men of any ethnicity with a family history of prostate cancer; (ii) men of black African or black African-Caribbean ancestry; and (iii) men of any ethnicity with a known genetic predisposition to having prostate cancer (e.g., being known to have inherited a gene mutation that increases risk of prostate and/or being known to be in the top tenth percentile of the polygenic risk score (high PRS score prior to enrolment) for targeted prostate screening (Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing, MRI and a biopsy of the prostate gland) and genetic profiling. The outcome of these prostate cancer screening investigations will be compared with the genetic profiles of those taking part in the study in order to look for certain genetic changes in the gene code that are thought to increase prostate cancer risk. This research will help us to determine what the role of such genetic profiling is in a prostate cancer screening programme and if it helps identify men at high prostate cancer risk.